Chapter One

Papa's Diner

"If you call me James, one more time I swear I will murder you, Ian" Hana sighed as the fight between Caddy and Ian continued, only intensified by the annoyance radiating from the rest of the people in their cramped compartment. The train had been fuller than they'd expected, forcing the members of Hidden Block and Normal Boots, totaling seventeen people with the addition of Mai, to squeeze into two compartments meant for six people each. They were packed together like sardines, nine in one, eight in the other. Hana desperately wished she'd chosen the second compartment, having been squished between Jared and Jirad in their current situation. Not that she minded, and she hadn't had much of a choice when both Jirad and Jared had immediately steered her into the compartment the second they were on the train, but the irritation here was rising. Sooner or later a fight would break out.

"Um...Ian...Caddy...maybe you should calm down and try to-" Hana stopped herself, realizing neither of them were even blinking in her direction as they had their stare down. Ian was as platonic as ever, giving off his ever present aura of indifference. Caddy, on the other hand, was infuriated, a vein nearly popping in his forehead.

"Just ignore them if you can, Hana. They always do this. Nothing ever comes of it" Luke shrugged, having noticed the frown on her face. "Eventually Ian will get bored of tormenting him or Caddy will realize he's getting nowhere"

As if on cue, Caddy gave a loud sigh, slouching in his seat between Ian and Paul. He was scowling, an expression unsuited to his normally cheerful self. Hana wondered why they hadn't had the insight to seat the two of them apart. Maybe she could still shove Paul, Nick, and Josh in between them.

"Hana" Jirad said quietly, a small frown on his face. "Like Luke said, don't worry about it. Ian and Caddy are friends, they'd never actually hurt one another"

"You'd be surprised" Caddy muttered to himself. Jared, Jirad, and Luke shot him seething glares as Hana's frown only deepened.

"Hey we'll be there soon, Hana!" Jirad said happily, leaning over so that his arm was around her shoulders. Hana looked up as Jirad beamed, his excitement nearly infectious. "Tons of students from Asagao are going to this convention. And we'll be playing in an even bigger tournament this time! I'm sure there's going to be tons of vendors there. Maybe one of them has a new Itty Bitty Kitty for your collection"

Hana gave a small smile. She had been starting to collect more and more of the adorable toys that Jirad adored. After getting a job at the school's library, she'd been making her own money, and her scholarship had increased because of her good grades. Ever since then she'd been collecting the tiny statues herself, slowly filling her and Mai's room with them. The convention they were going to was much larger than the one they'd been to the year before. There would be dozens more merchants at this one, and an even larger tournament that neither club had ever participated in. It was well worth the six hour trip, even if some of them couldn't get along.

"Yeah. Hopefully we can find a rare one there" Hana nodded.

"Don't worry, Hana we'll separate the two of them on the way home. Wouldn't want any cat fights to ruin the trip" Jared was sending a well-meaning scowl in the direction of Ian and Caddy. Ian scoffed, turning his head to watch the countryside fly by. Caddy on the other hand rubbed his neck, clearly embarrassed

A sudden jolt shook the train. Hana was practically shoved into Jared, crushed between him and Jirad. Thankfully Jared thought to raise his arm, causing her to fall into his lap rather than crashing against his shoulder. Ian, Caddy, and Paul were rocked into one another as Luke smacked his head against the wall while Nick and Josh nearly fell from their seats. A faint scream was heard, no doubt Mai, from the other compartment, followed by a series of grunts and groans from whoever she'd crashed into. The train had come to a stop.

"We're here!" Jirad cheered, apparently affected by the sudden stop. He hadn't seemed to notice the various expressions of pain and embarrassment, nor Jared lifting a mortified Hana out of his lap. "Come on guys, let's g-" He stopped, noticing the rest of them. "Oh. Are you all right? Jared, you're really red. You're not getting sick are you?"

"No I'm alright" Jared stood quickly, running his hand through his perfect hair. "We should go, the others might have already gotten off already"

Jared had been right. The rest of our group had already collected themselves on the train platform. There was a range of emotion passing through them, ranging from an irritated Mai to a deep blush on the face of PBG. Even Jon, though he hardly ever broke from his flamboyantly happy behavior, looked vaguely irritated as he held his Jaques in his hand.

"Is everyone ready to go to the hotel?" Jirad asked, still smiling brightly as he carried both his own and Hana's bag onto the platform. "The convention starts tomorrow so we should all get plenty of rest"

"Maybe let's get something to eat after. I'm starving" PBG said, rubbing the back of his head idly. Hana. He was still blushing, looking off in any direction he could to avoid eye contact with anyone.

"Oh yeah." Jirad nodded earnestly. Hana would never understand how he, and Satch for that matter, were always so impossibly nice in the worst situations. "We should. What do you guys want?"

"I found a place" Jeff held up his phone, displaying a map app on its screen. "It's pretty close to the hotel. Looks like a sit-down family restaurant, so they wouldn't mind a bunch of grumpy teenagers coming in"

"Let's go!" Jirad took Hana's hand carefully, pulling her along the walkway. The others followed suit, carrying the various pieces of luggage they'd brought. Hana looked over her shoulder just in time to see Mai unceremoniously allow PBG to take one of the three bags she'd brought, stalking away with the same irritated look on her face. What could have possibly happened?

The walk to the hotel was short, taking them along four or five blocks worth of city streets. Amaharu, the city the convention was being held in, was much larger than Higanbana. Its streets were a maze, filled with vendors, food carts, and various shops and pedestrians. Jirad and Jeff had studied the route tirelessly, leading their large group effortlessly. They managed to arrive without incident, and deposited their bags before heading for the restaurant

It was a cute, American-style diner situated in a sweet looking residential neighborhood. The title was in English letters, reading out "Papa's Diner" according to Shane and Caddy. Jirad and Jeff escorted them inside, where a smiling waitress lead them to a few tables in the back corner. Thankfully they could spread out, leaving them much more comfortable than they'd had on the train. The split was almost natural, most of the Hidden Block slipping into a table booth that would fit all of them easily. Jon and PBG pushed two smaller tables together, gathering chairs to surround them. Despite the separation, Hana could see Jeff and PBG talking animatedly as their waitress brought over large trays of their drinks, a small notepad and pencil in hand to take their orders.

The menu was in English, most of which Hana could read in broken sentences. Mai could make out most of it, and of course Shane, Walid, Satch, and Caddy could understand it fully. The rest of the group was divided between being completely unable to getting broken pieces of the western language. Hana ordered a suitably American looking dish, a sandwich and french fries that looked much lighter than anything else on the menu. The others followed suit, with the exception of an order of chicken wings that looked spicy enough to melt steel by Jon. He was a risk taker he said. But he did order ice cream to soak his terrorized tongue in afterwards.

"This place is pretty cute" Jared said lazily, looking over the small diner. He looked bored to tears, though Hana suspected he was merely trying to draw attention to himself so he'd have a reason to ignore Mai.

"Yeah. It is" Hana agreed quietly, listening as the majority of her friends agreed. The diner was rather nicely decorated. It was themed in red and silver, nicely adorned with various knickknacks she suspected were American in nature. A few baseballs with cursive signatures on a shelf, a framed jersey that was also signed, some posters and pictures of athlete, musicians, and movie stars. It was a nice appreciation of another country.

The little bell over the diner's door rang loudly, drawing Hana's attention to it. A small group of girls had entered, chattering quietly among themselves as they entered. There were five of them in total, ranging in height and appearance, all wearing tired expressions despite their apparently happy conversation. Hana watched carefully as they waved to the waitress behind the counter. She came out smiling brightly, leading the small group to a table whose booth seat was adjacent with that which Luke, Ian, Jimmy, and Caddy were seated in. One of the girls, one almost as tall as PBG wearing a black and white band t-shirt, gave them a skeptical look before turning back to her friends.

"Hmm" Jared was watching the small group with an almost wistful look. Hana could practically see the gears turning in his head as his eyes scanned them.

"I don't think they'd appreciate your charm, Jared" Satch said gently, catching sight of the same look Hana had. "They seem rather stressed. Perhaps you should leave them be"

Jared was wearing his most suave smile, the radiant aura that spread from him intensifying to an almost blinding brightness. Most of the table was watching him skeptically with the exception of Mai, who wore a hurt frown.

"Nonsense. There's not a lady in the world who does not appreciate a little gentlemanly charm" Jared insisted.

His voice caught the attention of one of the girls at the other table. She glanced up from her menu, eyeing him with a strange expression on her face. Jared grinned at her, a smooth smile that would have struck Mai dead if it turned on her. The girl raised an eyebrow, earning a small snicker from Jon. Jared shot his friend a glare, getting to his feet easily.

"Jared...you really shouldn't-" Hana sighed as Jared strode easily over to the table, leaning against it casually. All five of its occupants looked up at him expectantly.

"Hello ladies, what brings you here" Jared turned his eyes on the girl who'd initially looked their way. Along with her band shirt she was also wearing thick glasses and heavy makeup, her eccentrically blue hair clashing with red skinny jeans. Next to her was her friend who'd overheard him, wearing an alarmed expression on her face. She reached up to adjust her black hair, moving its shoulder length strands away from her face and twirling it around her fingers.

"Food maybe? It is a diner after all" The Band Shirt girl spoke in heavily accented Japanese, her words earning a sharp laugh from Jon and Caddy. Walid was leaning off the edge of their table, struggling to see what Jared was doing. Jimmy was nearly on top of him.

"Ah, clever aren't you" Jared was unaffected, his smile still written easily across his face. He turned to the girl playing with her hair, trying to avoid his gaze with by shrinking into her seat. "And you? What's your name beautiful?"

The dark haired girl paled, green eyes going wide. "Um...I'm Daya?" She said, looking anywhere that wasn't directly at Jared.

"Daya..A name fit for a queen" Jared's grin widened. He'd managed to catch one of them.

"Jared, please sit back down before you give the poor girl a heart attack" Jeff said, seeing the alarming rate at which Daya was trying to slip further away from Jared. He stood, leaning around the seat to look at her. "Are you alright? Jared doesn't mean anything by it, he's just friendly"

Band shirt scoffed, as if friendly wasn't the word she would have used. "Lay off it, bud" She said. Hana suspected she was American, as she spoke in English, but didn't share the same accent as Shane or Caddy. "She's really not interested"

"Cassie...don't be mean" Daya said weakly, looking embarrassed. She looked at Jared, her face still flushed. "I'm sorry...she doesn't mean it. Really she doesn't"

"It's alright, my dear" Jared smiled brightly at her again. "It's you I'm interest-" Jared squealed as Luke and Satch grabbed his shoulders, dragging him back over to the table with apologetic smiles.

"Sorry, ladies. We'll keep him on a leash" Luke smiled, turning back to his own group.

Daya frowned, but didn't argue as her friends returned to their meal. Hana looked down at her plate, having finished most of her sandwich while watching Jared embarrass himself. Most of the table was still eating, with the exception of Mai and Jared, who were both sulking. She remembered the way to the hotel...or at least she thought she did. Maybe it was best not to risk it.

Waiting for the rest of her friends to finish, Hana found herself staring at the table of girls. Cassie, the girl with the strange accent, had returned to her conversation, munching on the fries the waitress had brought them. Daya on the other hand was scribbling something, slowly eating her own meal as she did so. Hana caught her glancing up every once a while, checking on their table before turning back to whatever she was working on.

"Hana?" Her attention snapped back, turning to see Jirad watching her with a concerned smile. "Are you coming? We're all ready to leave"

Had that much time passed? Hana nodded and stood, gathering her jacket and bag. Jon and PBG were on the way back from the register, smiling and talking quietly about something. Hana sighed, she'd planned on offering to help with the bill. She'd have to get something for Jon and PBG while they were at the convention.

"Well let's go I suppose" Jared said, still sulking to himself. Satch gave him a sympathetic expression, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and leading him to the door. Hana followed them out, stopping only when a small voice caught her attention.

"Um..excuse me" She felt a small tug on her jacket, turning to find the girl Jared had been speaking to standing behind her. She was holding the paper she'd been scribbling on, clutching it between her hands.

"Oh...hello" Hana said, seeing the confused expression on Jirad's face and the nervous one the girl was wearing.

"Sorry for bothering..." She said quietly. Hana had to strain to hear her as the girl glanced over her shoulder to see if any of her friends were watching. "I'm Daya...Daya Markis. I...well I felt bad...because Cassie was so mean to your friend when he was only trying to be nice" It wasn't nervousness, the girl wasn't blushing. She was just very quiet. "I figured I should apologize, but he and your other friend left before I finished. Daya held out the paper carefully. "Give this to him please? I wanted to give it to him before he left...but you know"

"Of course" Hana accepted the paper carefully, noticing how crisp and clean it was. No wrinkles or spots whatsoever, despite having been surrounded by greasy food and drink at a crowded table. She avoided looking at whatever it held, figuring there might be some personal message. "I'd be happy to. I'm sure Jared will be thrilled. I'm Hana by the way. This is Jirad"

"Nice to meet you" Daya smiled, nodding her head toward Jirad. "Thank you so much." She bowed quickly, turning to return to diner to join her friends.

"Huh. That was nice" Jirad said, smiling. "I guess Jared did make a good impression...oh. They waited for us"

Hana turned back to the street, finding the majority of her friends staring at her. Mai was clenching her fist, glaring at Daya's retreating form. Most of them were merely mildly curious, Jared looked ecstatic.

"Well? What was that about?" PBG asked as Hana and Jirard joined them, politely ignoring the paper in her hands as if it weren't there.

"Well...umm...Jared" Hana held the paper toward him slowly. "This is for you."

Jared took it, excitement coloring his features and darkening Mai's. He scanned over the paper quickly, his face falling from sheer excitement to something akin to awe. Hana's curiosity got the better of her and she, along with Jirad and Caddy, glanced over Jared's arm to see the paper.

"Oh wow" A soft sigh escaped Caddy.

Daya had drawn a full profile portrait of Jared, sulking at the table. She'd taken the time to add in much more detail than Hana thought she'd had time to, including the figures of Caddy and Satch, both who'd been blocking her line of sight to Jared. Hana came to a sudden realization. The image hadn't been an apology...Daya had to have been working on it the moment she sat down. That must have been why she was hiding from Jared, only to apologize and stand up for him in front of her friends.

"Well I think Jared's had enough excitement for the day" Satch said, probably having seen the defeated expression on Mai's face as she saw the drawing. "Let's head back. Big day ahead of us"

Hana looked back toward the diner. Cassie and Daya were both watching them out the window. They turned away when they saw her watching, quickly going back to whatever the others were doing.

Things were never easy with the Normal Boots.